The decision of the Central government to refer the issue of implementation of a uniform civil code to the law commission has, as expected, raised a storm. The decision
follows an observation by the Supreme Court that it would prefer a wider debate before taking a decision on the constitutional validity of ‘triple talaq’ which is being misused by
Muslim men to arbitrarily divorce their wives. Goans would probably say, what’s the fuss all about, but in the rest of India personal laws are a big deal. The issue of a universal civil code needs a dispassionate debate rather than an emotional one, no matter how hard this might be in a nation like India which is argumentative and harbours views as many as the number of gods. The Supreme
Court has provided the Centre with a fig leaf, but has the government
gone too far in trying to reinforce its majority vote
bank? The ‘triple talaq’ is loaded in favour of Muslim men and
it would have been preferable if this imbalance was settled
within the community. But now that it is before the apex court,
a larger debate on uniform civil code seems unavoidable.
